Meet Techie Hagedorn, the happy designer

It was only recently that I realized that Techie German Hagedorn was designing dresses that were worn by fashionable, low-key ladies who looked good and knew how to dress for the right occasion without trying hard. The outfits were stylish, colorful and comfy — three things I consider when buying dresses. Best of all, they are made in the Philippines by Techie and her staff with an affordable price range of P1,500 to P4,000;  prices that you certainly can’t go wrong  with.

Always a busy person, Techie’s first job was right after she graduated from the University of the Philippines with a BS Economics degree. She was immediately hired as a personal shopper for Babette Aquino’s line Manna and Wara at Rustan’s Makati. She then worked for six years as sales representative of Malaysia Airlines Manila handling everything, from travel agencies to shipping accounts, and corporate sales. She then joined the family-owned, head-hunting firm Workmate Philippines.

 It was during the 1990s that she was introduced to the world of export overruns and eventually joined bazaars. For 12 years, she enjoyed going to the factories and personally picked out the lines that included popular brands such as Ann Taylor, Gap, Express, Club Monaco, and Ralph Lauren.   Her side business was continually doing well with her wise choices.

 Always the busy bee, Techie continued working even after marrying fund manager Philip Hagedorn in 2003 until she finally decided to take a sabbatical to have children. Now blessed with two pretty twin girls, Emilia and Clara, Techie wanted to do something workwise when they turned two years old.    Keeping busy but having her own work schedule was of prime importance since she was a mother first and foremost.  Since clothes and fashion accessories were her passion, she decided to take a risk and designed her own clothing line, Alegre, which means happy in Spanish.

When I asked Techie to recount how she started this business, she cheerfully reminisced, “Phillip and his family love the beach and going out of town, and I always found it difficult to find nice but reasonably priced beach/ resortwear.  It was because of this that I decided to start making beach coverups. I hired one sewer who worked in our garage and she used an old machine that belonged to my mother-in-law. I bought the fabric, designed it, and bought the beads for embellishments.  I wore these to our beach trips and the feedback was great.  My friends commented about them and asked if I could make some for them.”

 Soon after, her friends Raul and Joanna Francisco, who own the successful boutique Tint, invited her to be one of the concessionaires for their Greenbelt and Rockwell stores.   And as they say, the rest is history, with the Alegre line doing so well with the beach coverups, tunic tops and dresses, resortwear, jersey dresses and accessories.  They are also available at Aranaz in Greenbelt 5, Itsie- Bitsie in Rockwell, and in exclusive trunk shows.

 The creative Techie surely knows her priorities. “I feel very blessed as my work in Alegre has allowed me to do something that I really love and still be a hands-on mom to my twins, an attentive wife to Phil, and enjoy occasional ladies’ lunches with my girl friends. I am thankful for all the support Alegre has received and I hope that people continue to enjoy wearing my creations.”

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Alegre is available at Aranaz in Greenbelt 5, Itsie- Bitsie in Rockwell and in exclusive trunk shows.

For information, e-mail alegreresortwear@gmail.com, or check out its Facebook page Alegre by Techie Hagedorn.

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For comments and ideas:  jacinto.fa@gmail.com